e.

Belton began to cast around for another occupation, but, in whatever
direction he looked, he saw no hope. He possessed a first class
college education, but that was all. He knew no trade nor was he
equipped to enter any of the professions. It is true that there were
positions around by the thousands which he could fill, but his color
debarred him. He would have made an excellent drummer, salesman,
clerk, cashier, government official (county, city, state, or national)
telegraph operator, conductor, or any thing of such a nature. But the
color of his skin shut the doors so tight that he could not even peep
in.

The white people would not employ him in these positions, and the
colored people did not have any enterprises in which they could employ
him. It is true that such positions as street laborer, hod-carrier,
cart driver, factory hand, railroad hand, were open to him; but such
menial tasks were uncongenial to a man of his education and polish.
And, again, society positively forbade him doing such labor. If a man
of education among the colored people did such manual labor, he was
looked upon as an eternal disgrace to the race. He was looked upon as
throwing his education away and lowering its value in the eyes of the
children who were to come after him.

So, here was proud, brilliant Belton, the husband of a woman whom he
fairly worshipped, surrounded in a manner that precluded his earning
a livelihood for her. This set Belton to studying the labor situation
and the race question from this point of view. He found scores of
young men just in his predicament. The schools were all supplied with
teachers. All other doors were effectually barred. Society's stern
edict forbade these young men resorting to lower forms of labor. And
instead of the matter growing better, it was growing worse, year by
year. Colleges were rushing class after class forth with just his kind
of education, and there was no employment for them.

These young men, having no employment, would get together in groups
and discuss their respective conditions. Some were in love and desired
to marry. Others were married and desired to support their wives in a
creditable way. Others desired to acquire a competence. Some had aged
parents who had toiled hard to educate them and were looking to them
for support. They were willing to work but the opportunity was denied
them. And the sole charge against them was the color of their skins.
They grew to hate a